Swim for life?

But now there's new evidence that suggests swimmers may live longer lives than couch potatoes, walkers and runners -- and that swimming might even edge running in terms of physical fitness.

In a study that examined the medical records and activities of 40,000 American men -- most of them white, middle-class males -- Dr. Steven Blair at the University of South Carolina found that swimmers had the lowest death rates. What it means, he says, is that men who swim "have better survival rates than their sedentary peers."

That's no surprise, but when he compared swimmers to runners and walkers, he found that swimmers appeared to be healthier than even runners.

This is one of the first studies to look at what kind of exercise might be most beneficial.

"People ask me all the time, what kind of exercise should I do?" says Blair, an exercise researcher who has been studying fitness for more than 30 years. "My mantra over the years has been: doing something is better than doing nothing and what you do doesn't matter that much."

This study, however, made him wonder if that advice was always spot-on.

While examining the records of 40,000 men, ages 20 to 80, and the medical records that followed them for more than a decade, he discovered that the death rate in the swimmers was lower than in the runners, although he isn't sure why. "Maybe the swimming is a little more vigorous," Blair says.

Curiously, runners had lower BMIs and lower blood pressure than swimmers, but swimmers seemed to have an edge when it comes to longevity.

But Blair cautions that the study of swimming -- and its health benefits -- needs more work.

For one thing, not many people swim regularly as a form of exercise. Out of 40,000 men, only 562 were swimmers, and during the 13 years of follow-up, only 11 of them died -- or 1.95 percent. By contrast, 15,883 were sedentary individuals and 1,747 of them died during the 13 years that followed -- 10.9 percent. Of 20,356 runners, 1,336 or 6.6 percent of them died during the ensuing 13 years.

The small number of swimmers in the group makes it hard to definitively prove that swimming trumps running as a form of exercise.

"There were only 11 deaths, so it would be a little shaky ground for me to get up on my high horse and say, 'We've proven that swimming is better than running,' " Blair says. "The message is: This research shows that swimming is beneficial and lowers the risk of mortality" or death.

That comes as no surprise to Kenny Hickey of Kissimmee. Eight years ago, after Hickey was diagnosed with hepatitis C, one doctor told him he had eight years to live. But Hickey, a lifelong swimmer who does not drink alcohol, underwent treatment and now his disease is in remission. "I am a believer in swimming," says Hickey, 63, who started swimming at age 5 on an Orlando area swim team. Today, Hickey swims with a master's swim team, a group of adults who swim three times a week at the YMCA Aquatic Center on International Drive.

For many in Hickey's master's swim group, running has been a bust -- in part because of the wear and tear on their knees and joints.

For John McCall, for example, running causes pain in his knees and ankles. But the 6-foot-1 McCall, who swam competitively in college, recently returned to swimming. Now, at 57, he remembers why he loved it so much.

"It's kind of like flying," says McCall, who lives in Merritt Island. "You're gliding through the water and it feels wonderful." Although he bikes and kayaks regularly, he finds that swimming "keeps your spine nice and limber."

But if you're not a lifelong swimmer, it's not too late to start.

Paul Duckett signed up for a master's swim team two years ago because he wanted to improve his performance in triathlons. Like many triathletes, he was an experienced runner and cyclist, but thought that swimming was his weak spot.

"I will say, being a runner and a biker, that swimming is a better overall workout," says Duckett, 41, of Orlando. "First, there's no impact on your knees. And swimming engages the whole body, while running and cycling work out the lower half of your body.

"Honestly, the benefits I get in here are a lot more than I'd get running and biking."